Clippers at Hornets
The Los Angeles Clippers look to post their fourth straight victory on a
five-game road excursion when they visit the Charlotte Hornets on
Wednesday. Los Angeles has won the first three games by an average of
10.7 points, including Monday's impressive 108-91 victory over the
Washington Wizards.
The Clippers played well without power forward Blake Griffin (quadriceps) for the second straight game and the bench players equaled the point total of the starters - 54 apiece. "We're fighting. We know we're a big man short," Los Angeles coach Doc Rivers told reporters. "Everybody knows they have to be involved in the game. It's really nice - the starters started out the game the way they started it, the bench came in and extended it." Charlotte has notched two straight victories to snap out of a slide in which it lost five of six games. The Hornets allowed an average of 95 points in the back-to-back victories after giving up an average of 105 over the previous five contests.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Prime Ticket (Los Angeles), FSN Southeast (Charlotte)
ABOUT THE CLIPPERS (19-13): Point guard Chris Paul had 23 points, seven assists and five rebounds in just 27 minutes against Washington while topping 20 points for the fifth time in seven games. Yet nobody was talking about his play afterward because the 6-foot Paul actually scored twice on dunks - stunning his teammates and Rivers. "I met my quota though," Paul said afterward. "I usually get one or two for the season."
ABOUT THE HORNETS (17-13): Point guard Kemba Walker had a huge game in Monday's 108-98 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers when he scored 18 of his 38 points in the fourth quarter. Walker was 14-of-25 shooting while scoring 30 or more points for the fourth time this season and he also contributed six rebounds, five assists, three steals and two blocked shots. Shooting guard Nicolas Batum had 15 points and tied a season high with 11 assists against the Lakers but he sat out Tuesday's practice with a sprained toe and he and backup guard Jeremy Lin (ankle) are both questionable to play against the Clippers.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Clippers have won eight of the past nine meetings.
2. Charlotte is 13-1 when scoring 100 or more points.
3. Los Angeles backup SG Jamal Crawford had 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting against Washington after suffering through a 1-of-10 effort against Utah on Saturday.